By The Editorial Board
With current events constantly overloading our social media platforms and news notifications, it gets easy to brush over headlines. Now, the Israel-Hamas war is at the center of many of these posts and articles, and it’s important to not get lost in the flurry of reshares. As social media users, we must do our part to learn about the reality of the situation.
The dispute over land territory and freedom has been ongoing for decades, dating back to the early 1900s, when thousands of Jewish people migrated to Palestine for various reasons, such as religious persecution and a desire to return to their homeland. Following Israel’s victory in the Israeli-Arab War of 1948, which pertained to land ownership, the land was divided into Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The main conflict that’s been present for many years is regarding the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. According to Reuters, “The conflict pits Israeli demands for security in what it has long regarded as a hostile region against Palestinian aspirations for a state of their own.”
Hamas — identified as a terrorist group in 1997 by the U.S. State Department — won a 2006 election and seized control of the Gaza Strip. In response, Israel placed a blockade on Gaza.
Since then, conflicts have continued, and Hamas recently launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing over a thousand people and taking about 200 people hostage.
Following the surprise attack, there have been thousands of Israeli and Palestinian deaths, as well as brutal violence and a humanitarian crisis. According to NPR, “Electricity is dangerously scarce: Israel shut off supply to Gaza’s main grid five days ago, and as hospitals cope with thousands of wounded people, fuel for generators is running low.”
The above facts and brief summary are not all-encompassing, but it is necessary for people to digest and understand the background of the Israel-Hamas war, especially given the large amount of social media activity on the topic.
This is not something that can or should be reduced to a single repost in support of Israel or in support of Palestine. People are dying. Violence is ongoing. Having tunnel-vision on one opinion or another and making this about taking sides is insensitive. Violence to this extent is wrong, no matter what.
These are matters of global importance and human rights.
This is a time to try to understand the situation and to be concerned about the human lives at stake. Be cautious when speaking about it, as the war may personally impact the people around you. Show sensitivity and a willingness to learn, not combativeness online.
Baylor is offering students, faculty and staff the opportunity to learn about the war’s context at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Barfield Drawing Room. According to the Office of the President, “in solidarity with a fellow faith-based institution, we have signed onto the Yeshiva University statement against Hamas.”
“The basis of all universities is a pursuit of truth, and it is times like these that require moral clarity,” the statement reads. “We, the presidents of universities across the United States of America and the world, stand with Israel, with the Palestinians who suffer under Hamas’s cruel rule in Gaza and with all people of moral conscience.”
We go to a Christian university. For many students at Baylor, the Holy Land is venerated as the place where Christ defied the laws of nature, performed miracles and — in so doing — gave us a culture of compassion, love and mercy. How have we let the Holy Land become a place of violence, destruction and division?
